Jennifer R. Pournelle has lived in ten states and eight countries. She received her doctorate in anthropology and archaeology from the University of California–San Diego. After leaving the U.S. Army, she spent time as a professional editor before embarking on her current career as an environmental anthropologist and archaeologist. Her poems have appeared in Parnassus Literary Journal and Minerva. She lives with her partner in Columbia, South Carolina, where Pournelle is a research assistant professor with the University of South Carolina School of the Environment.